TAF: The Final Show
by Tune4Toons
Summary: Remember the old TAF contest from months ago? Yes? No? Maybe? Guess what? WE'RE BAAACK! The final results! And for a little bonus, do you think you have what it takes to stir up an apocalypse? The TAF: Challenge Edition is also around in town just for you!


**Author's Note: Welcome to _The Very Late Lost Chapter With a Challenge at the Bottom_, AKA the Challenge and final results of TAF! I mean, FINALLY (if anyone remembers this contest to begin with haha)! Even so, I'm aware this isn't the only contest *coughModacelimazing42cough* where results took a while to come out. XD I'd like to thank Autistic and Foxpilot for being fantastic judges, despite how the three of us were the Triforce of procrasti— *mute button***

**And yes, there is a fanfic challenge at the bottom! It's 2012, after all. I'm surprised not a lot of people have touched on the theme it has yet. So that's there; just find where it says "**Special TV Announcement!**" in bold. :)**

**And now folks, here it is! Enjoy~!**

* * *

The television screen flipped from channel to channel until it stopped at an image of a park at night.

What a wondrous day it was; after all those days of extensive planning and readjustments, the show was finally about to start. The TAF crew watched the arched, iron gates of the park from the wooden stage. One by one (maybe three by fifty), the crowd trickled into the park, each taking one of the many seats laying among the ten rows. It was a joyous day for the event. The cloudless sky was welcoming the night, and street lights surrounded the park with glowing hues.

In the meantime, backstage behind the velvet curtains, Foxpilot and Autistic were putting on bow ties that Red had handed them.

"It looks ridiculous," Foxpilot said. He tugged at the red tie, its colour clashing with his green T-shirt and black hoodie.

"Alright," Red said. "I know the ties look tacky and the colour doesn't really match, but everyone's gotta wear something that matches."

Autistic looked down at his own tie, noticing how the colour of it blended right in with the redness of his parka. "It looks fine to me."

"You have no reason to say otherwise. No one can see yours."

"That's not a problem."

"But they can see it on me, and it's absolutely atrocious."

"What do you mean they aren't here yet?" a scream came from behind them. Turning around, the guys watched as Tone paced back and forth along the planked floors, talking into her cellphone, a tense aura radiating from her. She took a moment to let out a huff before continuing. "Look, you guys better make sure they get here in time before it's time for their cue."

The guys fell silent as they watched.

"No, they can't send it to the PM box; they have to get the actual files over to us somehow, preferably in person, which isn't possible if they aren't here yet." She looked over to Red. "Can you look for my laptop?"

Red chuckled nervously. "Sure, if I knew where it was."

"It should be by the table near the projector," Autistic said, pointing to his left.

The group continued batting once Red ran over to check. Minutes later of searching, he came back to report the news.

No one predicted today to go terribly wrong.

"What do you mean my laptop's missing?" Tone yelled.

Red held his hands up. "I told you; I couldn't find it!"

Mario poked his head through the curtains from onstage. "Five-a minutes, everyone."

As Foxpilot walked to where Mario was, Autistic noticed Snake leaning against a pillar, smocking a cigar while eyeing the scene Tone was making. He walked over to him. As soon as Snake noticed, Autistic gave a greeting, and the two talked. A few minutes of explaining the situation, and he found Snake hop onboard, offering to help with the search. Who was going to get the full blame in the end, Autistic didn't know. Then again, no one would want to be at the wrong end of that gun.

Onstage, Foxpilot faced the audience, mic in hand, clearing his throat before saying, "Welcome to the TAF results show! We apologise for the uncalled long delay. Unfortunately while we were away, someone took the liberty of stealing some equipment." The crowd gasped and murmured amongst themselves, which was traditional done when hearing announcements onstage. "Yes, we'd like it back. We aren't pointing any fingers, but step up now and you won't get hurt." His hand fumbled in his pocket, finding a button inside.

Crickets chirped among the silence.

"Tough crowd," Red said as he took a peek from the curtains. Soon, he left to go find a seat in the crowd.

Foxpilot continued. "For those who don't remember, the four themes provided were a teddy bear, a penny jar, three deaths, and an apocalypse. We also had a word limit of ten thousand, which is over nine thou—" A beeping interrupted him. "Ah, time to get started."

Soon behind him, a large projector screen came down as a machine whirred in the background. A clip started playing, depicting scenes of a war-torn city with familiar faces of the Smashers fighting their way through.

Autistic stepped through the curtains and made his way onstage, taking a spot beside Foxpilot and being handed the mic. "To start us off, we have an entry from _Archduke Langus_ with his story _A Perspective Of The Endtimes_. Here, we have a sci-fi tale where an amnesic Link finds himself stuck in a space centre where two voices' story connect both Link's old memories of his lost allies and Earth—"

Then screen behind Autistic and Foxpilot broke into static. The crowd roared with questions and confused statements. From backstage, Tone called out to the guys.

"The clip's not working. Either it's our equipment or it's incomplete."

Foxpilot sighed. "Seems like no one will know how it ends then. Next time, perhaps?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Snake crept up behind a seat in the crowd, and he pointed a gun against a blue hedgehog's head. "Hands where I can see them, Blue."

The hedgehog nearly jumped out of his seat. "What the hell, Snake? I'm trying to watch here, and I didn't even do anything!"

"So where were you yesterday, Sonic?"

"In bed with your mom. Look, Luigi and I were both out helping the police with a couple of round-ups, nothing too special."

"And how do I know you aren't lying about it."

"Ask Luigi. In fact, feel free to go to the station yourself if you'd like."

Snake held his stance for a minute before sighing, putting his gun back in his holster. "Fine, but I still got my eyes on you."

* * *

Tone walked through the curtains and onto centre stage, motioning Autistic to switch with her. He passed her the microphone as he entered the backstage area while Tone walked into the spotlight beside Foxpilot, display screen flashing behind them. "Next off, we have _Child's Play_ by _TheWordMasterOfFiction_. Imagine this: in a blink, the world crumbles into the state of ruins and desolation before you, and those who survived were forced to savage and fight to stay alive, even against those who were once allies. This one had the most surprising twist ending that no one could've possibly suspected, incorporating some clever uses of the four given themes and prompts. The clip will be playing shortly."

* * *

As the crowd watched the screen, Snake had been on the move, slithering past a couple of rows of seats, slipping behind a chair next to the centre aisle. Then he brought his gun against the head of a young, blond boy.

"So I hear you are the one behind the exploding stage incident since sources tell me you had TAF's fireworks button."

Lucas, the boy, turned around, eyes bugged out, blanching at the sight of the gun barrel. "B-but Mr. Foxpilot gave it to me. Then someone knocked me over and stole it from me! It wasn't me! It wasn't me!"

"Okay, calm down." He put his gun away. "Tell me what happened from the beginning."

"It was some girl who looked like she was running away from a guy. She looked like she must've broken a rule or something, so I went to the police. They told me they'll find her. Then they gave me a lollipop, telling me to be a good little boy and not talk to people named after animals." He smiled. "By the way, what's your name, mister?"

"Snake."

Lucas eyes widened.

"Another police alibi…" Snake mumbled.

* * *

When the clip finished, Foxpilot took back the microphone from Tone. "When we had set the limit to ten thousand before, we weren't expecting to see someone willing enough to challenge or be bested by that limit. So here, we have _All Is Lost, But Hope Remains_ by _Starship Artisan_, which stands as the longest entry in this contest. Different Smashers' worlds have fallen into chaos by a mysterious enemy. By the enemy's hands, deadly disasters befell throughout the universes as Smashers do their best to fend off against it all, but their lives are gambled within the process. Who was causing it? What did they want? You'll see the clip play soon. Though the word limit proved to be hindering, we commend _Artisan_ for it nonetheless."

* * *

At the very back of the audience, Bowser was leaning against a lamp post, grumbling as he watched the TAF hosts with a scowl. Every time he saw flashing lights, he couldn't help but feel the need to spit at celebration-organisers' faces. Plus, for the ones hosting this year's celebration, he heard rumours that could potentially ruin them forever.

Then he heard the cock of a gun and a gruff voice. "Lots of people know you'd have the guts to steal equipment, Bowser."

"Snake," he hissed. "So when I break a rule, suddenly the entire city has me under high alert. Yet when those three up there onstage break it with their happy, but barely-legal show, they get to walk away scot-free? I think not."

Snake chuckled. "You seem to have a motive."

"Then again, so would any other strict 'rule-abiding' guy who likes to keep their streets squeaky-clean and lemon free—even if people agree the smell of lemons are nice. One word of this, and someone's bound to shut the place down, starting with whatever reason you are pointing that thing at my face for."

Snake opened his mouth, but Bowser cut him off before he could say anything.

"Yes, I know you said why sixty seconds ago; I heard about it yesterday. Kudos to the arse who did it, but you won't find anything on me about it."

"If I find out you were the one who did it, this gun," he put it back in his holster, "is going up places you wouldn't want it at."

Then he walked away, imagining western music playing the background as he did.

* * *

Autistic cake back onstage, taking his turn with the coveted mic within the spotlight. "_Reminiscence_ by _AvidAkiraReader_ was one with subtle apocalypse that the judges, and possibly even the author herself, had not noticed at first glance. Link's world turned upside down with the loss of his wife. However, the story starts us off with the livelihood of his neighbours, Samus and Snake—who lived in the same building complex—were working through the rough patches of their relationship. With news of recent murders happening nearby, the situation for these three get more worse than they could have ever thought. How so? See and find out for yourself."

* * *

Among the field of occupied chairs, Snake had the luck of finding an empty seat at far left side beside the next person on his list to interrogate. He sat down.

"Mr. Game and Watch, so I hear you're the one who does whatever you want no matter what, whether it breaks the rules or not?"

"Beep beep."

"So hypothetically speaking, say you were into crimes like stealing, do you think you'd have the skills to steal from the TAF crew?"

"Beep beep."

"Do you have an alibi saying where you were and what you were doing yesterday?"

"Beep beep."

"And is there a way to translate everything you say into a language I'd understand?"

He paused. "Beep beep."

Snake sighed before standing up and walking away into the sea of seats, never looking back.

Then Mr. Game and Watch shook his head before turning his head back towards the screen onstage. "Weirdo."

* * *

The quiet crowd watched as Tone returned to the stage once more to speak. "This entry coming within the nick of time, _Silence The Ringing_ by _PrincessDiMimi_ tells of how—and this, you don't see often—Smashballs disperse across multiple worlds to wipe out the Smashers. Why it was happening, many didn't know, and many lives fell victim to them, ringing being the last thing they hear before their deaths. Though a bit rushed, this story also held a surprise ending that wouldn't have been expected the first time around. Enjoy."

And the clip played on behind her.

* * *

There was no way Snake couldn't have noticed it: spiky, blue hair on top of a tall man's head. He snuck his way to the right-most corner of the front row and took a seat behind the man.

"You're the one to go to when a job needs to be done?" Snake said.

"Yup. That'd be me," the man said.

"Say I asked you to steal from the TAF crew. Would you do it?"

"Depends on how much you're willing to pay up."

Snake pulled out his gun. "Did anyone ask you for that kind of job yesterday?"

"That, I cannot say," he paused, "unless you're willing to pay for that kind of information."

Snake chuckled. "That's all right. I got what I needed."

* * *

Foxpilot cleared his throat, seeing from the corner of his eye that Tone's stance was somewhat stiff. Beside her was Autistic, who had relaxed muscles, glancing at the mic in Foxpilot's hand.

"Our final, last minute entry is _Force of Habit _by _Byoshi_, who decided to delve into the roots of the word 'apocalypse' in a rare, metaphorical twist. Samus, a prosecutor who questioned her relationship with one Douglas Falcon, unsure if she had an apocalypse in gift wrap when it came to him. As her life continued its tumble through routine, she meets man with paralysis, Link Fi, and discovers life through a new light. It's a deeper view on modern routine unfolds with an ending that leaves you to wonder will happen from there."

While the clip played onscreen, Snake found himself suspecting that he knew who the thief could be, but first, he needed a way to both test and reveal it. He crept up the wooden stairs that led backstage. Soon, he spotted Autistic walk through the curtains, fixing up the projector for the movie clips playing onstage.

"Autistic, I think I know who it is."

"Really? Who is it? I'm sure Tone will be happy when she hears the news."

"I'm not 100% sure if it is who I think it is, so that's why I wanted to ask you something first."

"What would that—" A beep interrupted him. "Oh, I have to get back onstage, so tell me after."

Soon, he walked back through the curtains, leaving Snake alone to plan out how the thief was going to be revealed to everyone.

"So how are you guys liking the results show so far?" Tone said, hearing the crowd clap and cheer like in her mind. "After a long time of waiting, here are the final results."

Foxpilot was the first to speak. "I noticed how despite this author had the quick mention of the Mayans being her original use of the apocalypse, Link's now-shambled life and mind in her story made a subtler, yet stronger use of that theme. In third place, we have _Reminiscence_, by _AvidAkiraReader_."

The crowd clapped and cheered, anticipation raising in the air.

"The impact this next story had," Autistic said, taking the next spot, "with its well-set atmosphere and hard-hitting ending gave the author an impressive standing against the competition. She was very close to taking that first place spot, but won us over nonetheless. Second place goes to _TheWordMasterOfFiction_ for her story _Child's Play._"

The three onstage could feel the excitement weighing heavier as people cheered while some whistled, all waiting for the winner to be announced.

Tone sucked in a deep breath before speaking. "This final story stood above the rest. The set-up, the beautiful prose, and the half-subtle use of the themes and prompts… They all brings forth a tale that gets you thinking, and in the decision to award her with first place, the winner is…"

A drumroll played in the speakers.

"_Byoshi_ with her entry, _Force of Habit_!"

Soon, the entire audience roared as confetti and fireworks shot from the top of the stage and rained down onto the crowd below.

"Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who participated! Stay tuned for more upcoming contests by other hosts from this amazing community!"

* * *

After the event was over, Tone, Autistic, and Foxpilot watched as the crowd slowly trickled through the park gates, leaving the sea of chairs empty. The three of them gathered backstage, each thanking individual workers who helped them set up the stage for the event. Red came back from watching the show, praising the three for organising a successful contest.

Snake walked up to them. "Good show, you guys."

Tone chuckled. "Thanks. Despite it all, I'm still a bit upset about what happened to my laptop. The old, original contest format was in there and everything."

Foxpilot shrugged his shoulders. "At least no one will end up seeing the old recordings about what happened to stage when it blew up."

"You mean your button for the fireworks?"

"And your crazy cousin who them it up."

Autistic smiled. "Thanks for letting me be a part of it. Maybe next time, contests won't Take as long as we did."

Tone laughed. "Thanks for helping out! You too, Foxpilot. Besides, there was another contest that took longer anyway, so we're off the hook. Probably."

Snake stepped in. "Now let's get down to business. I have a feeling I've figured who took the laptop."

"Really? Who?"

"It's none of the people I've interrogated. However, I know that the person who did it is likely to be someone worried about the rules this city has. The laptop has evidence of crimes, so it was 'stolen' to hide it."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

"Exactly." He glanced at Foxpilot. "Do you have anything to say about that?"

Tone's muscles relaxed as Foxpilot spoke. "And what do I have to do with this?"

"You were the one involved with the stage-exploding incident."

"Well I'm afraid you have the wrong person."

"I know."

Autistic raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand what you're getting at."

Snake glanced at Tone, who's posture stiffened slightly. "The person who stole the laptop had access to backstage. No one would've suspected a thing. Our little laptop thief is none other than…"

* * *

The television flipped to a different channel with a message on the screen:

"We interrupt your scheduled broadcast to bring you a **Special TV Announcement!**"

Peach appeared on the screen, walking towards the centre of a yellow stage with a mic in hand. "It's still 2012, so if you think you got what it takes make use of an amazing apocalypse, then go for it! To help get those imagination gears turning, we'd like to present _TAF: Challenge Edition_!" The camera moved in for a close up of her face. "Remember the TAF's Armageddon Contest prompts: a teddy bear, a penny jar, three deaths, and an apocalypse? Well…" She looked to her left. "Our lovely Captain Falcon will give rest of the details on that."

A figure in a cobalt jumpsuit strutted onto the stage beside Peach, taking her mic. "What we have prepared in this challenge is indeed a challenge that not even the author of this passage thought was possible! Want to prove her wrong and shove that fact in her face? Here's how to do so!

"Any length, any genre, any characters. However, be sure you have an **apocalypse** in there as this is an Armageddon challenge after all." He held up a finger. "But wait, there's more! In this apocalyptic story, you also must use the prompts **tangerine** and **ferry** as well. Literally? Metaphorically? You decide. **T**angerine, **A**pocalypse, **F**erry. Remember that. Be as clever as you'd like with these words, but complete the TAF Challenge, and you'll sure find yourself with some unexpected results."

Peach took back the mic. "Don't forget to mention it's for _TAF: Challenge Edition_ as well, and we wish any takers best of luck! And don't even worry if the year isn't even 2012; any year works just fine. Best of luck to those who wish to try it, and have a nice day!"

The screen flipped to static as the message "Thanks for watching" appeared within it all.

* * *

**Tune4Toons: Woohoo! And the results are finally out as well as a little TAF Challenge for anyone who thinks they got the guts to tackle it! Apologies on the long wait for the results haha. Also, the little "incident" thing was inspired by how the original TAF contest announcement got taken down, though not in the way depicted here of course. **

**Seriously, I have no idea who decided to do that. Not cool, man. Not cool.**

**And that wraps up _TAF: The Armageddon of 2012 Contest_ as well as initiating the start of _TAF: Challenge Edition _just as a little bonus addition haha. How about another round of applause for Autistic and Foxpilot for their fantastic judging?! And congratulations again to all the winners and participants. **

**Have a fabulous day, and keep up the writings!**


End file.
